four things you might not know about this flight simulation video game

Pilot a Canadair, a helicopter, a private jet or even a hot air balloon and fly over the whole world. All this is possible with Flight Simulator. The 2024 version of the famous Microsoft game is available from Tuesday November 19 on PC and XBox, 42 years after the very first edition. Four years ago, Flight Simulator 2020 had already been an important advance in the game, notably because the Earth had been entirely represented in a very realistic way.

In this new opus, Microsoft promises “authentic realism of all environments, careers to pursue in aviation and the opportunity to explore our beautiful world with different types of aircraft.” With new aircraft, new airports and new features as well as improved graphics, the game is available in four versions ranging from 79.89 to 219.99 euros. Aimed at both gamers and aviation enthusiasts, Flight Simulationr also contains some secrets.

1 It is developed by a French studio

Since the 2020 edition, Microsoft has entrusted the development of Flight Simulator at Asobo Studio, based in Bordeaux. “FS 2020 has reshuffled the cards for flight simulators on PC”, says Aurélien, regular player, aviation enthusiast and microlight pilot. He quotes “the ultra-realistic representation of the Earth thanks to the use of satellite images from Bing and artificial intelligence which makes it possible to model the world in 3D”. The player also notes the possibility of “fly above a beautiful world where we find textures and reflections of light”. In the latest version, new parameters are taken into account, such as weather phenomena, physical elements and materials, all to make the game as realistic as possible.

Asobo Studio has also been awarded for its work. In March 2021, the studio won the Pégase, the equivalent of the Césars for video games, for the best French game of the year for Flight Simulator 2020. An award that he has for the second consecutive year, after that in 2020 for A Plague Tale : Innocence, another game published by the studio.

2 Iconic devices, from the real world or not, are added

The game Flight Simulator is aimed at aviation enthusiasts and developers have fun enriching its database. For example, when releasing Dune, part two by Denis Villeneuve in early 2024, one of the devices from the film was reproduced in an extension of the game. It was then possible to take control of an ornithopter, an aircraft with wings similar to those of a bird, confronted to a sandstorm, common on the planet Arrakis. Tom Cruise's plane in Maverickthe continuation of Top Gun released in 2022, had also appeared.

On the real side, an Airbus A330 resembling those of the Red Cross had been proposed in Flight Simulator during the Covid epidemic. A replica of the Antonov 225, an iconic plane which no longer exists today, is also present in the game. It is a Ukrainian model, the largest carrier in the world, destroyed after being bombed in March 2022, at the start of the war in Ukraine.

3 It is used by pilots

With its very advanced realism and its many features, Flight Simulator appeals to many players, including aspiring pilots and real pilots, like Aurélien. Before becoming a pilot for his leisure, this aviation enthusiast only did simulation with games like Flight Simulator but also X Plane. He even equipped himself with a cockpit at home, with a giant screen, joysticks and pedals, in order to live the flight experience as close to reality as possible. With all his achievements, Aurélien very easily obtained his ULM certificate. Today, he is preparing for his private plane license, PPL, still using flight simulators. “Thanks to Flight Simulator, I prepare for my flights, train and maintain my skills”he describes.

The enthusiast also points out that the game “allows us to simulate failures on light aircraft. Because, unlike professional pilots, we are not sufficiently trained in recreational aviation“. Flight Simulator also offers the possibility of very rare flight experiences, such as missions close to the ground, reserved for army helicopters and ambulances. “The details are fine and the sensations are incredible”greets Aurélien who works on his landings in this way.

4 It was used by the terrorists of September 11

But Flight Simulator can also fall into malicious hands. After the attacks of September 11, 2001, investigations revealed that the terrorists involved had notably used flight simulators to prepare their attacks. Microsoft was singled out, in particular because the World Trade Center towers appeared in Flight Simulator 2000. The Twin Towers were later removed from later versions of the game.

Even if this has not been clearly proven, the doubt which weighed on Microsoft for the possible use of its flight simulator had led brands to no longer sell the game. This was the case, at the time in Great Britain. -Bretagne, Virgin Megastores and Woolworths, reported Daily Mail in 2005.